Daily Reading for Monday, February 28th, 2011

Reading 1, Ecclesiasticus / Sirach 17:19-27

19 Their actions are all as plain as the sun to him, and his eyes rest constantly on their conduct.

20 Their iniquities are not hidden from him, all their sins are before the Lord.

21

22 Almsgiving is like a signet ring to him, he cherishes generosity like the pupil of an eye.

23 One day he will rise and reward them, he will repay their deserts on their own heads.

24 But to those who repent he permits return, and he encourages those who have lost hope.

25 Return to the Lord and renounce your sins, plead before his face, stop offending him.

26 Come back to the Most High, turn away from iniquity and hold all that is foul in abhorrence.

27 Who is going to praise the Most High in Sheol if we do not glorify him while we are alive?

Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 32:1-2, 5, 6, 7

1 [Of David Poem] How blessed are those whose offence is forgiven, whose sin blotted out.

2 How blessed are those to whom Yahweh imputes no guilt, whose spirit harbours no deceit.

5 I made my sin known to you, did not conceal my guilt. I said, 'I shall confess my offence to Yahweh.' And you, for your part, took away my guilt, forgave my sin.Pause

6 That is why each of your faithful ones prays to you in time of distress. Even if great floods overflow, they will never reach your faithful.

7 You are a refuge for me, you guard me in trouble, with songs of deliverance you surround me.Pause

Gospel, Mk 10:17-27

17 He was setting out on a journey when a man ran up, knelt before him and put this question to him, 'Good master, what must I do to inherit eternal life?'

18 Jesus said to him, 'Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone.

19 You know the commandments: You shall not kill; You shall not commit adultery; You shall not steal; You shall not give false witness; You shall not defraud; Honour your father and mother.'

20 And he said to him, 'Master, I have kept all these since my earliest days.'

21 Jesus looked steadily at him and he was filled with love for him, and he said, 'You need to do one thing more. Go and sell what you own and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.'

22 But his face fell at these words and he went away sad, for he was a man of great wealth.

23 Jesus looked round and said to his disciples, 'How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God!'

24 The disciples were astounded by these words, but Jesus insisted, 'My children,' he said to them, 'how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God!

25 It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for someone rich to enter the kingdom of God.'

26 They were more astonished than ever, saying to one another, 'In that case, who can be saved?'

27 Jesus gazed at them and said, 'By human resources it is impossible, but not for God: because for God everything is possible.'

More Bible

Reading 1, Exodus 16:2-4, 12-15: 2 And the whole community of Israelites began complaining ... Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 78:3-4, 23-24, 25, 54: 3 What we have heard and know, what our ... Gospel, John 6:24-35: 24 When the people saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were ... ... continue reading

Bible Resources

The New Jerusalem Bible (NJB) is a Catholic translation of the Bible published in 1985. The New Jerusalem Bible (NJB) has become the most widely used Roman Catholic Bible outside of the United States. It has the imprimatur of Cardinal George Basil Hume.

Like its predecessor, the Jerusalem Bible, the New Jerusalem Bible (NJB) version is translated "directly from the Hebrew, Greek or Aramaic." The 1973 French translation, the Bible de Jerusalem, is followed only "where the text admits to more than one interpretation." Introductions and notes, with some modifications, are taken from the Bible de Jerusalem.

Source: The Very Reverend Dom (Joseph) Henry Wansbrough, OSB, MA (Oxon), STL (Fribourg), LSS (Rome), a monk of Ampleforth Abbey and a biblical scholar. He was General Editor of the New Jerusalem Bible. "New Jerusalem Bible, Regular Edition", pg. v.